1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to devices for expelling materials from tubes and, more particularly, to a resilient device for expelling viscous material from plastic, flexible walled tubes having overlapping, longitudinal, sealed seams creating a ridge thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well known, many types of viscous materials, such as gels, liquids, pastes, and the like, are sold in flexible tubes having one sealed end and a narrow nozzle end and having a closure means, such as a valve or cap thereon. These tubes may be made from many materials, but presently the majority of them are made from flexible plastic. The viscous material to be dispensed from the flexible tube is generally inserted in one end, and this end is then sealed to normally sealed to form an embossed, flattened end seal. It is also well known that such tubes do not efficiently expel all of the various materials held therein, and numerous attempts have been made to solve this problem.
Known means include slide members, squeezing members and ratcheting members. Many types of squeezing or extruding devices, have been proposed and used to aid in the expelling of viscous material from flexible tubes. Such known means, work well in some situations, but are not adaptable for all uses and in all situations. Therefore, there still exists the need in the art for an improved means for aiding and dispensing of all the viscous material held in modern flexible, plastic tubes.